Mona Lisa Smile
by Kevvy Talks
Summary: In his service for Nnoitora, Tesla had seen very little worth smiling for...until her.
1. Chapter 1

**Mona Lisa Smile**

**Rated: T**

**Genre: Friendship**

**Characters/Pairings: Tesla/Orihime**

**Summary: **In his service for Nnoitora, Tesla had seen very little worth smiling for...until her.

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**To Moshigami, for your words of encouragement, without which this fic would not exist.**

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Tesla had always lived in the shadow of Nnoitora. His barely there presence made him easy to overlook, and his master's massive ego gave little room for his own power to be recognized.

If any of the female Arrancar had bothered to look at him, they might have found something worth looking at in his golden beauty and wintry brown eyes. He looked like a fallen angel, replete with a dangerous male beauty that was more than a little intimidating.

With his mild façade, people often mistook him for being submissive and boyish. But there was nothing sensitive, gentle, or even remotely boyish about him.

He was a predator, and while he wasn't a magnet for attention, his deceptive appearance made him all the more formidable. He was tall and lean, not gangly and long-limbed like Nnoitora, or muscled like Grimmjow, but a perfect frame for elegantly simple clothes that provided a minimum distraction from his handsomeness.

Sometimes, Tesla silently thought that the eyepatch took away from his image. His blonde hair was thick and slightly curly, sticking out in all directions. His dark brown eyes were overcast. Beautiful eyes that showed no emotion when he smiled.

The smile itself was only a sensuous curling of the lips, but it was a dazzling sight, though he rarely put it to use.

In his service for Nnoitora, Tesla had seen very little worth smiling for...until her.

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Even though the room Ulquiorra had locked her in was sparse, it thankfully had an adjoining bathroom containing a sink with running water. After drinking thirstily straight from the faucet, Orihime washed her hands and face.

She went to the bedroom to search for a comb or brush. Finding none, she settled for smoothing her hands over her long hair

There was no sound, nothing to warn her of anyone's presence. Tesla stood just inside the room, his posture relaxed, his head slightly tilted as he watched her.

Like everybody else, he had wanted to get a good look at "Aizen's guest."

Orihime Inoue, the lamblike creature who sat with her back facing him, was unlike anything he had expected. She was much younger, her complexion fresh, her eyes filled with the kind of innocence that never failed to arouse his disdain. Hollows never valued or admired innocence.

They were masters of debauchery, and therefore couldn't appreciate it.

And yet despite the fact she was being held prisoner here in this white room, she still took the time for such a small and insignificant task as brushing her hair.

Tesla couldn't help but wonder what kind of girl could be so composed when any other would have burst into tears by now. Either she was dimwitted or she had remarkable nerve.

As Tesla stared at Orihime, he noticed her shoulders sag a bit, her movements sluggish. She was very tired, he realized. And the thought of all that awaited her...it must be exhausting.

A peculiar sensation passed through him, a gentle heat like a ray of sunlight falling on his skin. It took a moment for Tesla to realize the feeling was admiration. She was strong, and that strength might yet save her.

Suddenly, Orihime squared her shoulders and began to stand, but once she was upright she paused and swayed heavily.

_Damn... _Tesla rushed forward with sonido as she began falling, and caught her in his arms.

He looked into her peaceful face, and saw that she had passed out. From what Ulquiorra had relayed, Orihime had been refusing food and rest. It seemed her body had finally given out.

Obstinate little human, Tesla thought with amusement, and slowly smiled at her sleeping form.


	2. Chapter 2

Tesla waited with forced patience as daylight waned. He considered whether he should drop out of the meeting now or wait until Nnoitora dismissed him. Neither were very attractive options, but he had already heard the crux of Aizen's plan and he knew the intruders weren't far off now. Soon, the Espadas would converge on the substitute Soul Reaper and his friends. It didn't matter so much to Tesla that they were in Los Noches as they were on a rescue mission to take back Orihime Inoue.

It had been just two days earlier he'd laid eyes on her for the first time, and he had been intrigued by her.

He found it odd that Ulquiorra, who was charged with her care, never seemed to express the same interest when there was a great deal worth noticing in her. Admittedly, she was lovely.

Her hair, a bright shade of auburn, seemed to glow against her fair skin. She had full lips that were colored a natural rose, and large, round honey-brown eyes...pretty eyes, but full of emotion that made her easy to read. Tesla saw beyond her physical beauty, to a strength that he had never encountered in a woman before. It may just be that he was bored, but what could the harm be in seeing her again?

The air in the meeting hall was charged and heavy, edged with razor-sharp bloodlust. There were unfriendly gazes everywhere Tesla looked, and he knew why. Even though Aizen had told them to go about their usual business, knowing there were three intruders in Los Noches, now five, was enough to ignite tension among the ranks. Tesla heard the other Fracciónes talking among themselves, and quietly slipped out into the corridor. No one saw him. He was accustomed to being underestimated, ignored, overlooked...and he turned that to his advantage whenever possible. It was certainly coming in handy now.

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Orihime experienced a sense of well-being as she settled back against the plain white couch. It had been faint, but she had felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure. A silver trolley had been pushed into the room an hour ago with a serving dish of sandwiches filed with thin-sliced meats and cheeses. Determined to gather her strength for her friends, Orihime had devoured three sandwiches in quick succession. After finishing the last few crumbs, she had tried forcing herself to relax so she could try to feel for any ripples of spiritual activity in the air. So far, there was nothing. She closed her eyes, immersing herself in darkness.

"Orihime Inoue?" The silken voice snapped her into attention. She turned, her gaze meeting and holding with that of the other man standing in her room.

"Who are you?" she asked wearily. Her hands came up in front of her guardedly. He noticed the reaction and responded without hesitation. "I'm Tesla Lindocruz. I serve under one of the elite Espada."

He had a pleasant voice underlaid with iron. His slim form belied his powerful spiritual pressure. Outwardly, he didn't pose much of a threat, but Orihime wasn't so quick to presume that his friendly introduction meant he was a friend. She held her ground.

His light, glittering eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Despite his mild and subdued manner, there was a feline quality about him...he was like a sleeping but potentially deadly tiger. She didn't feel it wise to answer his last statement, and instead waited to see what he would do next.

If he was here to provoke her, she wouldn't take the bait, and instead remain like this until he left. If he didn't, then she would know he wanted something and could prepare for whatever that happened to be.

Tesla sidestepped to the right, moving away from the doorframe. Orihime's eyes followed him so that for a moment she almost didn't see the trolley in the hall behind him. With light, graceful hands, he rolled the trolley into her room and closed the double doors behind him.

She tensed, and he almost smiled at her skittish nature. Almost. He took it as a good sign that she wasn't flying across the room at him, on the offensive. She was a smart girl, knew instinctively that she was no match for him. This only further piqued his interest in her.

"Hungry?" he inquired, attempting small talk. He floated a hand through the air, gesturing to the food he'd brought. He hadn't known what she liked- or even what humans ate for that matter- so he'd studied the culinary arts beforehand and made a little bit of everything from what he'd gleaned.

"No...not really," she murmured, her eyes drifting away from him.

"Thirsty, then? I made some tea. Would you like to try it?"

She seemed weary of his hospitality, but gave a small dip of her head, seeming to think it wise not to refuse. Was she really that afraid of him? Or was she just trying to pacify him since he'd insisted? Tesla mulled over this a bit as he poured the amber liquid into a porcelain cup. When he turned around and came over to her, she regarded him with the most questioning of looks, now sitting on the very edge of the couch.

He smiled at the sight of her. "You look like you want to run," he told her. He stopped about a foot away and extended his arm to her, cup in hand. She took it tentatively, fixing him to the spot with her warm doe-eyed gaze. "I don't understand why you're being so nice to me."

"I certainly have no ill intentions towards you, if that's what you're thinking," he said, and when that answer did not seem to satisfy her, he added, "I'm merely..." He paused, searching for the right word. "Fascinated."

This caught her off guard. "Huh?"

"It's only that I've never seen a human who can hold her own so well against Ulquiorra. I heard you slapped him." She blushed, an unexpected response. "Well...I had a good reason."

Tesla sat down gracefully next to her, his clothing betraying only the slightest of noises. He felt completely taken by surprise when she suddenly looked directly at him. Her gaze flickered somewhere below his face and then back up to his eyes. "There's bruises on your neck," she said softly. He blinked, lifting his hand and touching the tender area. Master Nnoitora had been in a rather foul mood today. It wasn't uncommon for him to be on the receiving end of the man's rages.

"Master Nnoitora has a temper," he stated simply.

"And he takes it out on you?" There was almost something like pity in her expression.

_No. _The last thing he wanted from her was pity. "You needn't concern yourself with that."

She bowed her head, breaking eye contact with him. "You should drink your tea," he told her.

"I'm tired. This couch isn't really comfortable to lay on." Orihime tried to laugh off the last part, but it was true, Tesla thought. The couch felt stiff and uncomfortable.

"You may lean back against me," he offered. Orihime didn't even flinch at the request, just gave him a look of total uncertainty. He realized he still had his sword on him, and so he stood, disarmed, and moved it far to the other side of the room. He removed his gloves as well, and sat down again.

It might not mean much, but it was the closest he could get to a truce.

"Here, lean back against me." He waved her over, and this time Orihime obeyed, half lying on him with his arms curved around her. His chest was solid and hard, but it cushioned the back of her head nicely. Bringing the cup to her lips, she took a tentative sip of the hot drink. It was tea of some kind, flavored with sugar and lemon. As she drank slowly, it filled her body with warmth. A long, contented sigh escaped her.

She had never experienced this physical closeness with a man before. It seemed terribly wrong to enjoy it. On the other hand, she would have to be dead or dumb not to. Nature had squandered an unreasonable quantity of male beauty on this undeserving creature. Better yet he was incredibly warm. She fought the urge to squirm deeper against him. His clothes were made of exquisite fabrics, the linen so buttery soft she almost melted into it. The hints of cinnamon and something more feral clung to his skin.

Tesla's mind was completely blank for a moment, almost unable to register that he was in physical contact with a human woman. He could feel her beating heart this close, and it was a painful reminder of the one he didn't have.

"Go to sleep," he murmured. Orihime half turned, and looked up at him. She thought she heard his breath catch when she smiled at him, but she didn't question it. She didn't see what he saw. Acceptance.

They were enemies by very nature, but this delicate creature bore him no ill will, no hidden resentments. In her heart, she only wanted to see him as a friend, even if circumstances pit them against each other.

And they might very well come to just a scenario in the future, but for now Tesla drowned in that bittersweet smile and the feminine scent of her shampoo. When she inevitably fell asleep, he would have to take his leave and go back to his world of violence and bloodshed. But for these precious moments, he had the closest thing to tranquility he knew he'd ever find.


End file.
